February 26, 2025: A tale of two counties as Albemarle and Fluvanna staff recommend budgets for FY26
Albemarle’s Richardson recommends four-cent real estate tax increase while Fluvanna’s Dahl recommends 12.4 cent reduction
We are now up to the 57th day of 2025, also known as February 26. On this day in 1616, the Roman Catholic Church formally banned Galileo Galilei from having the opinion that the sun is at the center of the solar system and the astronomer initially agreed to his punishment. That’s just part of the story, cited in a journal from 2006, and now pointed out to you at the start of this edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, wanting to know what you would pick from a list of happenings for this day?
In today’s installment:
Dr. Craig Kent has resigned as head of UVA Health following a no-confidence vote last September by concerned physicians
Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson has proposed a four-cent real property tax rate increase in the FY26 budget
Fluvanna Supervisors get the first look at Administrator Eric Dahl’s recommended budget for FY2026 which includes a real estate tax rate cut
The Louisa County Animal Shelter is at full capacity and has warned of reduced services
A quick look at the solar panels on the roof of the First United Methodist Church
Charlottesville is set to unveil a long-awaited historic marker to acknowledge the slave trade in 18th and 19th century Albemarle County
First shout-out: Plant Virginia Natives
The snow has finally melted but it’s not quite time to plant for spring. Almost! This is the time to plan and you can take some time to get ready for spring! Check out Plant Virginia Natives!
Plant Virginia Natives is part of a partnership with ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, from the Northern Piedmont to the Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. For the Charlottesville area, download a free copy of the handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.
Plant Northern Piedmont Natives is for anyone who works with native plants, whether you are a property owner, private consultant, landscape designer, nursery operator, conservation group, or local government.
Kent resigns from UVA Health after Board of Visitors meeting
The executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia resigned on February 25 after an internal protest from concerned faculty members.
Earlier in the day, the UVA Board of Visitors had been briefed in closed session on the results of an independent counsel’s investigation into the allegations made in the letter.
“Following the meeting, Dr. Craig Kent offered, and President Ryan accepted, his resignation,” reads a statement sent out to UVA Health employees Tuesday evening. “Dr. Mitch Rosner has agreed to serve as acting Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of Virginia.”
Last fall, a letter of no-confidence in Kent was sent to the Board of Visitors signed by 128 faculty members associated with the U.Va Physicians Group according to a September 5, 2024 article on the Cavalier Daily. The signatures were not publicly revealed but the names were made available to four members of the BOV.
29News reported at the time that an independent counsel would be hired to investigate what the letter described as “egregious acts”
The letter requested the dismissal of both Kent and Melina Kibbe, the dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine.
“Craig Kent and Melina Kibbe foster a negative environment that is contributing to an ongoing exodus of experience and expertise at all levels that contravenes our mission to provide excellent—and safe— patient care,” reads the letter.
Complaints were arranged into categories which included “compromised patient safety,” “culture of fear and retaliation,” and “devaluing the academic standards of promotion and tenure.”
The letter also alleged excessive spending on corporate personnel that took away revenue for patient care.
“Some leaders have dismissed many of these concerns as those of a disgruntled few,” the letter continues. “This letter and these signatures demonstrate that these leaders are disconnect from the organization they have been entrusted to lead.”
The Cavalier Daily reported last year that Kent had a salary of $1.6 million and Kibbe had a salary of $829,000.
Other stories:
Craig Kent resigns as CEO of U.Va. Health after external review delivered to Board, Cecilia Mould and Ford McCracken, Cavalier Daily, February 256
UVa Health CEO Craig Kent resigns, Emily Hemphill, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), February 25, 2025
UVA Health CEO Craig Kent resigns following internal investigation into health system, Maggie Glass, WVIR 29News, February 25, 2025
UVA Health CEO resigns after allegations from faculty, Anastasiia Carrier, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 26, 2025
Richardson proposes four cent real estate tax increase for FY26 budget
For the first time in several years, Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson is recommending a budget based on an increase in the real property tax rate.
“The budget is balanced on a tax rate of recommended tax rate of 89.4 cents, which is a 4 cent dedicated property, real property tax increase,” Richardson said.
The proposed title for the recommended budget is “Investment in Action - Prioritizing our Community’s Safety and Well-Being.” (download the full budget here)
Richardson is also recommending returning the personal property tax rate to the pre-pandemic level of $4.28 per $100 of assessed value. The meals tax is anticipated to stay at six percent and the lodging tax is anticipated at nine percent.
The total budget of $642,386,163 is just under two hundred thousand dollars larger than the adopted budget for FY25 of $642,196,101.
The increase in the real estate property tax comes in a year when Albemarle’s property reassessment resulted in an average value increase of 5.1 percent. An equalized rate is not presented within the 318 page budget document.
During his hour-long presentation, Richardson explained how county staff use a five-year financial plan to guide budget development each year. That process had identified a gap that would need to be closed this year, and so that is his recommendation.
Of the four cents, 3.2 cents will be dedicated to cover costs of a long-term plan that has hired 57 additional firefighters and medics in recent years to increase response teams across the county’s rural and urban area.
“Four years ago we knew that we faced the inevitability of a real property tax increase at some point in time,” Richardson told the Board of Supervisors Wednesday afternoon. “We had stronger than anticipated natural revenue growth combined with success in competitively earning federal SAFER grant money that we pulled down from the federal government that when you combine those two things, it delayed the inevitability of a tax rate increase.”
SAFER is an acronym for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that Albemarle and other localities across the country have used to hire additional public safety personnel. Under the program, the federal share is gradually reduced until the locality has to pick up the full tab.
“The four SAFER grants that we pulled down through the federal government totaled $12.7 million,” Richardson said. “And you're going to hear me talk about that today because it's time now, as those grants feather away, for the local government to step in and to take that burden over.
The four cent increase includes 0.04 cents dedicated to the public school system. In recent years, the county has also made a commitment to capital construction such as two new public schools.
“We’ll need additional operating revenue in order to make that work,” Richardson said.
The remaining 0.04 cents will go to affordable housing programs, generating $1.2 million.
There will be a public hearing on the recommended budget and capital improvement program on March 5. That will be followed by a series of work sessions before another public hearing on April 30 on the tax rates. The Board is scheduled to adopt the budget on May 7.
More details on the budget as well as initial reactions from Supervisors in the next edition of the newsletter as well as on Information Charlottesville. For the purposes of this specific newsletter, the Weldon Cooper Center of Public Service at the University of Virginia estimate Albemarle County’s population was 117,790 on July 1, 2024.
Dahl recommends Fluvanna budget for FY26 based on real property tax rate decrease
Let’s first note that the Weldon Cooper Center’s population estimate for Fluvanna County is 28,382 as of July 1, 2024.
Real estate assessments in Fluvanna increased by 25 percent for this year, but the proposed $115.1 million budget for fiscal year 2026 from County Administrator Eric Dahl is based on a reduction in the real property tax rates.
“My budget is based upon a real estate tax rate of $0.72 [per $100 of assessed value],” Dahl said at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors on February 18. (review the budget book for FY2026)
That’s a reduction from the current rate of $0.844 per $100 of assessed values.
Assessments in Fluvanna County were updated this year and the average value increased by about 25 percent. With that increase, what’s known as the equalized-rate dropped to $0.689 to bring in the same amount of revenue as fiscal year 2025. That means that Dahl’s budget still means an increased tax payment for more property owners.
“What my budget proposal does is it results in a four and a half percent [tax] increase,” Dahl said.
The personal property tax will remain at $4.10 per $100 of assessed value. No other tax rates were adjusted.
Dahl said one of the drivers in the budget is the recent creation of a new Department of Emergency Service. There have also been new requests for additional deputies for the Sheriff’s Office. He also noted inflation is currently at an annual rate of three percent which increases the costs of doing business.
“The overall increase in county expenditures is a little over $4.1 million, which reflects a 3.7 percent increase from the FY25 amended budget,” Dahl said.
That includes a $228,000 increase that will allow for one additional deputy and two promotions. There’s additional $248,000 tied to the new emergency services department to cover a fire chief position. Fluvanna’s share of debt service for the James River Water Authority increased by $375,000.
“Social services is reflecting an $109,000 increase primarily due to in my budget proposal I have included one new position for a family services specialist and then they also are showing some increases in public assistance programs,” Dahl said.
The recommended budget also includes a three percent cost of living increase for all county employees.
Earlier in the meeting, the Board had a discussion about the steep increase in assessments, which had not been conducted since 2023.
“We are still facing a housing market that is, you know, very hot in the sense and especially in certain types of homes,” said Rivanna District Supervisor Tony O’Brien.
The median sales price for a home in Fluvanna County in the final quarter of 2024 was $370,000 according to data compiled by the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors.
There is a budget work session scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Morris Room today. This is the deadline to set the maximum real estate tax rate for the public hearing. There will be a budget work session each Wednesday until April 23 when a meeting to adopt the budget is expected to be held. The public hearing on the real estate tax rate and the public hearing on the budget are scheduled for April 9.
Second shout-out: Alliance Française de Charlottesville
The Alliance Française de Charlottesville promotes the French language and francophone culture through educational and cultural programs. Visit the Alliance Française website to learn more about group classes, private lessons, cultural events, and social activities for both kids and adults.
The Louisa County Animal Shelter is full
The Louisa governmental department officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve as the county’s state-mandated dog pound has announced they are currently at full capacity.
“Without space available for any incoming strays, Louisa County is offering free adoptions on all animals,” reads an email sent out the afternoon of February 25 by the Louisa County Animal Shelter.
This means temporary changes such as a request that people who find an animal keep it in their neighborhood for now and make an attempt to find the owner. There is also a form that can be filled out so the animal shelter is aware of the animal’s situation.
“The typical reclaim rate nationally for lost pets is only 17 percent when a pet comes into a shelter,” reads the release. “But when a pet is kept in a safe place in the neighborhood where they were found, that rate jumps to 70 percent.”
If you have an animal and you can’t keep it, the shelter offers resources for rehoming.
Rehome.adoptapet.com
Getyourpet.com
Rehomeyourpets.com
Home-Home.org.
The shelter also encourages people to foster animals at the shelter. Durations can last as little as a week. More information can be found here.
Solar panels in place at First United Methodist Church in Charlottesville
Unless you’re a bird or a drone or just very tall, you may not have noticed there are now solar panels on top of the First United Methodist Church in downtown Charlottesville.
The system is a 61.56 kilowatt photovoltaic system installed by Tiger Solar. That company got its start as Altenergy in 2005.
“That's 152 405 watt solar panels,” said Jeff Hegeman, director of sales for Tiger Solar. “Each one of those panels has its own little micro-inverter which converts the sunshine into electricity which is powering some of these lights in this building right now.”
The congregation at First United Methodist Church got a presentation on the system at Sunday services on January 26, 2025.
Hegeman said the system will power about a third of the church’s energy use each year and that will save a quarter of a million dollars over the next quarter of a century.
The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review initially denied a certificate of appropriateness for the installation due to a technical concern about the original building materials being damaged by the weight of the solar panels. Council overruled the BAR in March 2023 as reported by the Cavalier Daily.
In April 2024, the BAR approved an updated application that allowed for portions of the existing slate roof to be replaced with standing-seam metal to accommodate the solar panels, rather than the asphalt shingles originally proposed.
The panels were installed last summer and you can read about that in Emily Hemphill’s story in the Charlottesville Daily Progress. You’ll learn that the church took advantage of financing options that were made available by the Inflation Reduction Act.
(the audio version will have applause here - take a listen on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. on WTJU!)
“This has been over a two and a half year project to get to this point and so there were a lot of steps,” said Pastor Alex Joyner. “We learned a whole lot. Hopefully it's something that's going to be a blessing to other historical buildings, other churches that might be interested in having this kind of system on their facilities too.”
Watch the presentation here:
Historic marker to acknowledge Court Square’s role in slave trade
For years, people have been leaving plants and signs to commemorate at what’s known as Number Nothing in Court Square. That is one spot around the Albemarle County Courthouse where auctioneers sold people between 1762 and 1865.
On March 3 at 2 p.m., the City of Charlottesville will unveil a historical marker endorsed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources written by the city’s Historic Resources Committee.
The marker lists other locations such as the Eagle Hotel where 33 enslaved people at the Monticello estate were auctioned off in January 1829 to pay the debts of the late Thomas Jefferson.
“Enslaved Charlottesville residents Fountain Hughes and Maria Perkins recalled Court Day sales as dreaded occasions that separated Black families,” reads a section of the marker. “Such sales were frequent in Virginia, where the domestic slave trade was central to the economy.”
Mayor Juandiego Wade will be on hand to make remarks at the event.
Reading material for #820
US anti-pipeline activists say charges against them ‘meant to intimidate’, Nina Lakhani, Guardian, February 25, 2025
A look at competitive House districts, Brandon Jarvis, Virginia Political Newsletter (paywall), February 25, 2025
U.Va. lifts shelter-in-place order as suspect is at-large, Ford McCracken and Naima Sawaya, Cavalier Daily, February 25, 2025
Apple shareholders emphatically reject anti-DEI proposal, Lamar Johnson, ESG Dive, February 26, 2025
Two Democrats enter the race for McKeel’s Board of Supervisors seat, Kate Nuechterlein, WVIR 29News, February 26, 2025
1 displaced after townhouse fire in Riverrun, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), February 26,2025
Didn’t think this was going to be so #820, did you?
I didn’t go on the trip. Did I mention the trip? It doesn’t matter because I did not go on the trip. I’m reluctant to travel at this time because so much seems to be happening, and I’ve told people I’ll write down as much as I can. I’m doing that because it’s the sort of work I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t know what else I would do if I were to stop. More trips, maybe?
I stopped doing this work for two years once. Twice, actually! At the end of 1996, I decided journalism wasn’t for me. Two years later, I was back at it, doing freelance pieces for local public radio. Slowly I got back to work. Then in the middle of 2018 things shifted. I went to England a lot because I had time off, but an emptiness in my soul.
Now it’s the end of February 2025, and here we are with another edition with some stories you may have seen already, and perhaps others you’ve not seen. I’m typing this section before I write up the section on the Albemarle budget. They’re still talking at 1:48 p.m. when I write these words
Everything else is waiting to go. I began work on this at 8 a.m. after doing finances for the business. They’re surprisingly good, but I’ve yet to figure out how to bring in a lot more revenue to hire people to help me. I’ll get there one way or the other.
I don’t want to stop being on this journey. I do want to take other trips, and yesterday a friend gave a very exciting description of a city in Ohio I’d like to see. I’d like to see more of the country, and figure out a way to broaden what I do.
The audio for me to review is loading in at 1:59 and I’m listening to a King Gizzard track. Someone asked me why there are two Z’s in gizzard, but only one in each of lizard and wizard? This is a good question. Many of us just want to know more information on when the orchestral album drops. The single is below.
There is a chance I’ll take off either Thursday or Friday. Having not taken one trip, I may take another quick one. But, it’s likely there will be way too much information for me to do that. I’m grateful for this work, and grateful you are reading.
Published at 3:19 p.m. Back at work at 3:30 p.m. on CCE-821.